I recently came across an
interesting SSIR blog post
which touches on what I think is a very constructive development in the world
of charity: business as charity.

In our current economic climate,
where job creation is a keystone in every political campaign, Jim Koch, founder
of the Boston Beer Company (they make Samuel Adams beer), decided that instead
of giving money to charity he would become, essentially, a microlender. His new
program, called Samuel
Adams Brewing the American Dream, gives small loans to small food, beverage
and hospitality businesses in South Boston.
It also provides free coaching and mentoring from members of Koch’s
team. The point? Trying to create new jobs by supporting small business rather
than non-profits.

This is an excellent idea. Even a
small loan can determine whether a micro-entrepreneur’s business succeeds or
fails; I’ve seen this firsthand in my own business.

At ThinkInk we recently launched a PR and
thought leadership campaign for a Miami-based microfinance company, OUR Microlending. To date, the
company has disbursed about $6.2 million in loans to over 600 small businesses across
South Florida, including a Colombian souvenir store, a printing and vinyl signage shop, a cell phone accessories wholesaler and a nutritional
consulting and supplement store.
These are hardworking entrepreneurs whose loan applications were rejected by
the big banks. Because of OUR Microlending’s services – which are sorely needed
all over the United States, not just in the developing world – these self-starters
have been able to grow their businesses and create jobs to help stimulate their
neighborhood economies.

Of course, this is not to say
that I don’t think we should support nonprofits. In fact, we are in the process
of restructuring The ThinkTank, a
division of ThinkInk that is devoted to helping nonprofits grow their
organizations through visibility and intelligent PR. We’re recreating the
company into a for-profit/nonprofit hybrid that would allow us to significantly
expand to this unit to help more nonprofits throughout South Florida.

In his SSIR post, author Aaron
Hurst, founder of the Taproot
Foundation and a well-known leader in the world of non-profits and
social-impact, asks: is business the new
charity?

I’d have to say no. Charitable
giving is still crucial to nonprofits’ ability to fulfill their missions.
However, considering how difficult it is today for the owners of very small
businesses to access traditional banking services, I hope to see many more
programs like this spring up to help create much-needed jobs and re-energize
our still-shaky economy.

Vanessa Who? ThinkInk What?

Vanessa Horwell is the Chief Visibility Officer and founder of ThinkInk, a creatively-driven PR and visibility agency that shuns press releases in favor of storytelling. She's spent the past 15 years working with companies in the US, UK and Europe, developing clever campaigns and strategies for their brands. She founded ThinkInk in 2004, after being fed up with PR agencies that offered only more of the same. Vanessa and her team of ThinkInkers work with companies in North America and the Caribbean, UK, Europe and Australia to improve their visibility through strategic public relations and new media channels. You can reach her at info@thinkinkpr.com to learn more